Episode No. 7 mini-recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. UK'

The show, also dubbed “TUF: The Smashes,” features Australian fighter George Sotiropoulos and the U.K.’s Ross Pearson as head coaches of their country’s respective teams, which feature a total of eight lightweights and eight welterweights. They compete in a pair of single-elimination tournaments during the series, which concludes at UFC on FX 6 on Dec. 15.

FX airs the show in Australia, and ESPN carries the show in the U.K. It’s available online at aus.tuf.tv for the rest of the world beginning Thursdays at 9 a.m. ET (6 a.m. PT).

Here are the highlights from episode No. 7:

• Team UK is no longer content to just prank the opposing team and Mike Wilkinson and Luke Newman are pelted with eggs while playing basketball. Good-natured retaliation follows, and the house becomes a food-fight war zone. Team Australia is trying to sleep, but Aussie Ben Wall eventually joins in the wild fray. Team UK’s Bola Omoyele tried to avoid the madness, but he’s targeted by the entire crew and has no choice but to respond. Things don’t go exactly his way, and he slips to the floor in a comical moment. When the war finally ends, the house is a complete mess. As reality sets in, they realize the clean-up that’s ahead, but most of the team believes the entertainment was worth it all. When they wake the next morning, Team Australia doesn’t seem to feel the same.

• Fight selection is a formality. There are just two welterweights left to fight, so it’s Team UK’s Brad Scott vs. Team Australia’s Xavier Lucas.

• Team Australia’s James Vainikolo is blending in well with his new team. As a replacement fighter, it appears he’s stepping directly into the semifinals, and he believes his mental and physical freshness will prove advantageous. However, the fighters are called for a meeting at the gym, and it turns out James will need to fight to move forward. That means a Team UK welterweight will get a second chance. George reveals the UFC has given him control of picking which Brit re-enters the tourney, but he declines to make a pick until now.

• Back at the house, Team UK’s Brad has been keeping a diary of his time on the show. His teammates find the book and aren’t exactly thrilled with what they read. There are criticisms of the British fighters in the book, and the Team UK squad is not happy.

• Weigh-ins are no issue, as both Brad and Xavier weigh 170.5 pounds.

• Back at the house, the team starts to address the Brad situation. Valentino Petrescu is the most livid at what he read in the book. Brad doesn’t think it’s fair to judge him based on one small passage, but Valentino isn’t buying it. In fact, he wants to step in a cage with Brad as quickly as possible. Brendan Loughnane gets heated, as well. It’s probably not the best timing for Brad, who has a fight to win the next day, but things eventually settle.

• Australian UFC vet James Te Huna stops by the gym to greet his countrymen and watch the day’s elimination fight.

• Brad controls the opening round from the clinch and eventually takes the action to the floor. It’s not a very exciting round, but it’s a solid result for Team UK. The second round starts off poorly with an inadvertent kick to Xavier’s groin. On the restart, the action picks up a bit on the feet. Xavier scores a takedown, but Brad ties things up underneath and earns a restart. Brad takes advantage of the opportunity and drops Xavier with a flurry before working to his opponent’s back. Xavier survives until the bell, but the dominant finish leaves little doubt who won, and Brad is granted the decision victory.

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